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- Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:24 pm
#22648
Question #3: Assumption. The correct answer choice is (A).
Rock music was terrible, the critic laments, but at least the album covers of rock LPs were cool (apparently, they featured “innovative visual art”). With LPs now gone and replaced by digital music, the critic believes rock music has nothing going for it.
Because this is an assumption question, the answer you select must contain a statement upon which the argument depends, i.e. a statement that is necessary for the conclusion to be true. Usually, such arguments contain a logical gap that you need to identify and eliminate. For instance, the critic dismisses modern rock music simply because today’s digital albums lack the album covers of rock LPs from the 1960s. Isn’t it possible that digital albums are distributed with covers featuring visual art that is just as innovative as the art from the 1960s? Apparently not, the author assumes. This prephrase immediately reveals answer choice (A) to be correct.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. Try the Assumption Negation Technique: if digital music is distributed with accompanying innovative visual art, then the critic’s dismissal would be premature. Since the logical opposite of answer choice (A) weakens the conclusion of the argument, answer choice (A) contains an assumption upon which the argument depends.
Answer choice (B): The critic makes no assumptions about how many rock LPs are produced today. Even if such LPs do exist, it is unclear whether their covers feature innovative art like they did in the past. And if they do, perhaps the critic should not have dismissed all of today’s rock music outright. Whether this answer choice weakens the argument or not is ultimately irrelevant, as it clearly does not represent an assumption upon which the argument depends.
Answer choice (C): Whether rock LPs were the only ones featuring innovative album cover art in the past has no bearing on the issue of whether rock music has any redeeming qualities today.
Answer choice (D): That author makes no assumptions about the album cover art found on all LPs produced today. This statement falls entirely outside the scope of the argument, and may even weaken the critic’s position if we assume that some of the LPs produced today are actually rock LPs.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice may seem attractive, because it supports the critic’s conclusion that rock music today is worthless: apparently, it is even less sophisticated and more socially destructive than it was before! As damning as this statement may be, it is not necessary for the conclusion to be true. After all, the critic regards all rock music as musically bankrupt and socially destructive—a position so absolute as to render any such comparisons entirely unnecessary. Try the Assumption Negation Technique: even if rock music today is no more socially destructive or musically bankrupt than was the rock music of the 1960s, the critic’s position still stands: without cool album cover art, all rock music is worthless. Since the logical opposite of answer choice (E) fails to weaken the critic’s position, this answer choice does not contain an assumption upon which his position depends.
Rock music was terrible, the critic laments, but at least the album covers of rock LPs were cool (apparently, they featured “innovative visual art”). With LPs now gone and replaced by digital music, the critic believes rock music has nothing going for it.
Because this is an assumption question, the answer you select must contain a statement upon which the argument depends, i.e. a statement that is necessary for the conclusion to be true. Usually, such arguments contain a logical gap that you need to identify and eliminate. For instance, the critic dismisses modern rock music simply because today’s digital albums lack the album covers of rock LPs from the 1960s. Isn’t it possible that digital albums are distributed with covers featuring visual art that is just as innovative as the art from the 1960s? Apparently not, the author assumes. This prephrase immediately reveals answer choice (A) to be correct.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. Try the Assumption Negation Technique: if digital music is distributed with accompanying innovative visual art, then the critic’s dismissal would be premature. Since the logical opposite of answer choice (A) weakens the conclusion of the argument, answer choice (A) contains an assumption upon which the argument depends.
Answer choice (B): The critic makes no assumptions about how many rock LPs are produced today. Even if such LPs do exist, it is unclear whether their covers feature innovative art like they did in the past. And if they do, perhaps the critic should not have dismissed all of today’s rock music outright. Whether this answer choice weakens the argument or not is ultimately irrelevant, as it clearly does not represent an assumption upon which the argument depends.
Answer choice (C): Whether rock LPs were the only ones featuring innovative album cover art in the past has no bearing on the issue of whether rock music has any redeeming qualities today.
Answer choice (D): That author makes no assumptions about the album cover art found on all LPs produced today. This statement falls entirely outside the scope of the argument, and may even weaken the critic’s position if we assume that some of the LPs produced today are actually rock LPs.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice may seem attractive, because it supports the critic’s conclusion that rock music today is worthless: apparently, it is even less sophisticated and more socially destructive than it was before! As damning as this statement may be, it is not necessary for the conclusion to be true. After all, the critic regards all rock music as musically bankrupt and socially destructive—a position so absolute as to render any such comparisons entirely unnecessary. Try the Assumption Negation Technique: even if rock music today is no more socially destructive or musically bankrupt than was the rock music of the 1960s, the critic’s position still stands: without cool album cover art, all rock music is worthless. Since the logical opposite of answer choice (E) fails to weaken the critic’s position, this answer choice does not contain an assumption upon which his position depends.
, LSAC